Duffy of Newport Beach Boat Ride Giveaway!

My family was invited to take a Duffy boat ride by Duffy of Newport Beach last month and it was a super fun family activity! And I am excited to share that Duffy of Newport was nice enough to offer a giveaway this week of a free boat rental for one of my readers so make sure to enter to win at the end of this post! Your family will LOVE this experience.

We honestly had a blast from start to finish. But what was most fun was the fact that my 4 1/2 year old daughter was so excited about going on a “boat ride” you would have thought we were setting sail on a candy boat over a chocolate river! It was a BIG deal in our house.

Duffy of Newport Beach is located right on PCH and is super easy to get to and had plenty of parking. We were greeted with a friendly smile and the kids were all given coloring books and crayons for the trip. The staff made us feel very welcome and it was obvious this was a very family friendly company.

In the little office there was free popcorn for the taking & $1 snacks amongst other things…

Newport Harbor is so amazingly gorgeous. Since it was the Monday after Christmas, we decided to go from 5 – 7pm in hopes of still seeing some of the Christmas lights.

Here are some of the boats. All in beautiful shape…

I was told the boats hold 10 people comfortably. We had 6 adults and 3 kids (all 4 1/2) and we had PLENTY of space. It was very comfortable. There was a nice table everyone could sit around and drink holders for your drinks. Here we are squeezing in for a picture. In reality we had a lot more space than this! After my husband got a brief lesson on how to drive (very easy) and we were on our way!

I was a tad worried about the temp since we went at that time last month when it was FREEZING. We all bundled up and my girlfriend brought some hot coco to keep us warm. As it turns out, there are plastic “windows” that you can opt to have up or all the way down, which kept us so comfortable I didn’t even wear my jacket. I always thought of Duffy boat rides as a warm weather outing – but SO NOT TRUE! It was so cozy to go in the wintertime!

The kids were fired up! Loved every minute of being on the water and doing something new.

The especially loved getting to take turns being the “Captain” and “driving” the boat…

When they got back, the kids were told if they brought back a coloring sheet they could pick a “treasure” from this treasure chest…

Here are two of our little pirates. Arrrrrrrr!

It was too dark to get good pictures of the scenery, but here was one of the sunset before we departed.

So pretty…

Here are some tips if you plan on taking your own Duffy ride!

1. Go when it is light or plan to return shortly after sunset if you are taking your kids (except during December). It is more fun for the kiddos to be able to see the water and surroundings.

2. Bring food & drinks along as it is nice to have snacks and drinks. Or you can dock and dine at a waterfront restaurant. Duffy can also arrange made-to-order platters – just ask.

3. Bring a large trash bag! This was one thing we forgot and wished we had!

4. Bring your iPod! They have a hook-up.

5. Make all the kids (and yourself!) go potty before departing. There are no potties on the boat. You can always dock at a waterfront restaurant, but honestly easier to not have to if you can avoid it.

6. Plan a fun scavenger hunt for the kids ahead of time – things they can be on the lookout for. Or, do the Duffy one for an additional $25 / boat!

Duffy of Newport Beach is open 7 days a week from 10am – 8pm. You can rent boats for 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours. For small kids like ours, two hours was the perfect amount of time. Prices vary for weeknight vs. weekend. Click HERE and scroll down for pricing.

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a FREE Duffy of Newport Beach 2 hour weeknight (Mon – Thurs) boat rental* to take up to 12 people (10 comfortably!)

To enter, please leave a separate comment for each entry. Please also leave your email address in your comment (won’t be published) so I can contact you if you are the winner.

I grew up going to my aunt’s beach house on the peninsula and remember wishing I could take a ride on one of these. Now that I am grown up, I would love to take my whole family out! My girls love the water!

We did an office Duffy ride early in December – already lots of lights up and so fun to do as a team-building event!

January 21, 2011

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Mackenzie says:

Oh I would love to do this!

January 21, 2011

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nicole schaeffer says:

Sounds like so much fun!!

January 22, 2011

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Kristen says:

Would love to do this with my family.

January 22, 2011

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Nicole L says:

EEEEEE!!! This looks like so much fun!! I have 2 boys, ages 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 (with another on the way) who would LOVE to take a ride on a boat! We have some amazing neighbors who would love to do this as well, so we know who we’d invite along :-).

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

January 23, 2011

52

Andrew D says:

My girls love being out on the water and this sounds like a perfect outing.

Has anyone done the scavenger hunt on the Duffy boats yet? I am thinking about putting one together for my daughter\\\’s 7th birthday party and was wondering what types of things they do? Is it age appropriate or meant more for adults? Any other ideas on what I could do with the kids for the 2 hour boat ride to keep them entertained? Thanks so much for you ideas/suggestions.